Trump-Backed Darline Graham Wins South Carolina Runoff
Trump-Backed Darline Graham Wins South Carolina Runoff
The News
Sen. Darline Graham won South Carolina's Republican Senate primary runoff Tuesday, beating Rep. Ralph Norman and taking the GOP nomination for the seat once held by her late brother, Lindsey Graham.
The margin was 52 percent to 48 percent with more than 95 percent of the vote counted.
President Donald Trump endorsed Graham — a political novice — before she formally declared her candidacy, and campaigned for her in person in the closing week.
Timeline
Trump backed Graham for the seat before she announced a campaign, then held an in-person rally for her in Myrtle Beach last Friday.
Between July 23 and Aug. 5, Graham raised more than $346,000, according to FEC filings.
In the final week, Norman put more than $1 million of his own money into the race.
The day before the runoff, the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. spent over $827,000 on voter calls and texts supporting Graham.
On Tuesday, Aug. 25, Graham held on for the narrow win.
Reactions
"I continue to miss Lindsey every day, and there is still a big hole in my heart," Graham said. "But I know he's looking down right now, very proud."
The Boston Globe framed the result as a show of force by Trump at a moment when his approval ratings and endorsement record have slipped.
Political Wire, citing the New York Times, wrote that Trump — who once set out to tear down the hawkish Republican establishment Lindsey Graham represented — has now folded the Graham name into his own movement.
Writing at AlterNet, one veteran strategist said he doubts the seat flips to Democrats but urged people to keep an eye on the race.
What's Next
Graham faces Democrat Annie Andrews, a South Carolina pediatrician, in November. Whoever wins will be the state's first female senator.
Andrews has already launched her first general-election ad, leaning on her career as a pediatrician.
Decision Desk HQ rates the seat as a likely Republican hold.
More
South Carolina has not elected a Democratic senator since Fritz Hollings in 1998.
During her short appointed tenure, Graham has voted for immigration enforcement and election integrity measures. Her stated unfamiliarity with national security and foreign policy is one line of attack Democrats may press in the fall.
The runoff was the clearest test yet of how far Trump's midterm involvement in Senate primaries carries into November, as Republicans defend their House and Senate majorities.
UMass Dartmouth Running Back, 18, Stabbed to Death
Trump Vows 'AI Force,' Czar; Polls Name Change
Sep 20, 2026
Iran Sends Trump Three Conditions to End War
Sep 19, 2026
Faulty AI Intel Nearly Started War With China
Sep 19, 2026
German General Breuer Elected NATO's Top Officer
Sep 19, 2026
Nobel Laureate: War, Sanctions Crushing Iranians
Sep 19, 2026
Dutch Police Disperse Violent Far-Right Hague Protest
Sep 19, 2026
GOP Midterm Odds Fade With 45 Days Left
Sep 19, 2026
Maher Rejects Tarlov's Claim Democrats Are Less Crazy
Sep 19, 2026
Patrick Clancy Breaks Silence After Ex-Wife Killed Kids
Sep 19, 2026
Trump Cuts Park Staff, Diverts Fees to DC
Sep 19, 2026
Holocaust Heirs Sue LA Museums Over Looted Art
Sep 19, 2026
Trump's Fed Chair Hikes Rates, Defying White House
Sep 19, 2026
Miller Drives Push to Deport Illegal Immigrant Children
Sep 19, 2026
US Lifts Sanctions on Eritrea's Military, Ruling Party
Sep 19, 2026
Air Force Admits US Has Space Weapons
Sep 19, 2026
Turkey Revokes License of Iran's Mellat Bank
Sep 19, 2026
Billionaire Ratcliffe Blasts Britain Over Immigration, Taxes
Sep 19, 2026
Navajo Nation Flash Flood Kills Three
Sep 19, 2026
Explosions Over Riyadh Trigger Saudi Air Alerts
Sep 19, 2026
Sep 19, 2026